Alberta-Banff

Mmmmmmmmm, I love to breathe in the crisp, fresh scent of the mountains. At 51 10'N by 115 34'W, it is -30 C in the winter with both chinooks and cold snaps, it snows all year round, even in the summer where it gets to 21 C. We are in the Montane Cordillera, in the national park of Banff. The population is 6700with a population density of 1382/km . Who wouldn't want to be here? With majestic mountains, and the

enticing hotsprings. The two main industries in Banff are tourism, and the environment (park care).

There is tonnes of things to do here. In the winter you can hike, take airplane or helicopter rides, go downhill skiing or if you prefer, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, dog-sledding, snowboarding, ice skating, sledding, tobogganing, ice fishing, ice diving (if you're daring), or sleigh rides. In the summer, you can hike, camp, fish, bike, golf at Chateau Banff Springs, play tennis, go swimming, canoe, kayak, go white water rafting, go on boat tours, go scuba diving, go on carriage rides, or go horse back riding. We opted to going snowshoeing in Banff, but also in Lake Louise. Take a look at a few of our pictures in my next blog!

Tomorrow, we take the plane to Vancouver where we will take the B.C. Ferry across to Vancouver Island. I am so excited to see the West Coast!